Jump to content

Weather balloon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromWeather balloons)
"Sounding balloon" redirects here. Not to be confused withobservation balloon.This article is about atmospheric and meteorological sounding balloons. For balloon space probes, seeList of Solar System probes.

Transosonde ready for release
Picture taken at approximately 30 km aboveOregonusing a 1,500 gram weather balloon
Rawinsondeweather balloon just after launch. Notice a parachute in the center of the string and a small instrument box at the end. After release it measures many parameters. These include temperature,relative humidity,pressure, and wind speed and wind direction. This information is transmitted back to surface observers.

Aweather balloon,also known as asounding balloon,is aballoon(specifically a type ofhigh-altitude balloon) that carries instruments to the stratosphere to send back information onatmospheric pressure,temperature,humidityandwind speedby means of a small, expendable measuring device called aradiosonde.To obtainwinddata, they can be tracked byradar,radiodirection finding,or navigation systems (such as the satellite-basedGlobal Positioning System,GPS). Balloons meant to stay at a constant altitude for long periods of time are known astransosondes.Weather balloons that do not carry an instrument pack are used to determine upper-level winds and the height of cloud layers. For such balloons, atheodoliteortotal stationis used to track the balloon'sazimuthand elevation, which are then converted to estimated wind speed and direction and/or cloud height, as applicable.

Weather balloons are launched around the world for observations used to diagnose current conditions as well as by human forecasters andcomputer modelsforweather forecasting.Between 900 and 1,300 locations around the globe do routine releases, two or four times daily.[1][2][3][4]

History

[edit]

One of the first people to use weather balloons was the FrenchmeteorologistLéon Teisserenc de Bort.Starting in 1896 he launched hundreds of weather balloons from his observatory inTrappes,France. These experiments led to his discovery of thetropopauseandstratosphere.[5] Transosondes, weather balloons with instrumentation meant to stay at a constant altitude for long periods of time to help diagnose radioactive debris from atomic fallout, were experimented with in 1958.[6] Thedronetechnology boom has led to the development ofweather dronessince the late 1990s.[7] These may begin to replace balloons as a more specific means for carrying radiosondes.[8]

Materials and equipment

[edit]

The balloon itself produces thelift,and is usually made of a highly flexiblelatexmaterial, thoughchloroprenemay also be used. The unit that performs the actual measurements andradio transmissionshangs at the lower end of the string, and is called aradiosonde.Specialized radiosondes are used for measuring particular parameters, such as determining theozoneconcentration.

The balloon is usually filled withhydrogen,thoughhelium- a more expensive, but viable option nonetheless - is also frequently used. The ascent rate can be controlled by the amount of gas with which the balloon is filled. Weather balloons may reach altitudes of 40 km (25 mi) or more, limited by diminishing pressures causing the balloon to expand to such a degree (typically by a 100:1 factor) that it disintegrates. In this instance the instrument package is usually lost,[9]although a parachute may be employed to help in allowing retrieval of the instrument. Above that altitudesounding rocketsare used to carry instruments aloft, and for even higher altitudes satellites are used.

Launch time, location, and uses

[edit]
A hydrogen filled balloon atCambridge BayUpper Air station, Nunavut, Canada
Launch of wiki payload into stratosphere

Weather balloons are launched around the world for observations used to diagnose current conditions as well as by human forecasters andcomputer modelsforweather forecasting.Between 900 and 1,300 locations around the globe do routine releases, two or four times daily, usually at 0000UTCand 1200 UTC.[1][2][3][4]Some facilities will also do occasional supplementary special releases when meteorologists determine there is a need for additional data between the 12-hour routine launches in which time much can change in the atmosphere. Military and civilian government meteorological agencies such as theNational Weather Servicein the US typically launch balloons, and by international agreements almost all the data are shared with all nations.

Specialized uses also exist, such as for aviation interests, pollution monitoring, photography or videography and research. Examples includepilot balloons(Pibal). Field research programs often use mobile launchers from land vehicles as well as ships and aircraft (usuallydropsondesin this case). In recent years weather balloons have also been used for scattering human ashes at high-altitude. The weather balloon was also used to create the fictional entity 'Rover' during production of the 1960s TV seriesThe Prisonerin Portmeirion, Gwynedd, North Wales, UK in September 1966. This was retained in further scenes shot at MGM Borehamwood UK during 1966–67.[10]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"NWS factsheet".Archived fromthe originalon 20 February 2016.
  2. ^ab"Weather Facts: Radiosonde | weatheronline.co.uk".www.weatheronline.co.uk.Retrieved6 April2023.
  3. ^ab"Observations - Data - Modelling".public.wmo.int.1 December 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 18 December 2023.Retrieved6 April2023.
  4. ^abWeatherSTEM."Upper-Air Observations".WeatherSTEM.Retrieved6 April2023.
  5. ^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922)."Teisserenc de Bort, Léon Philippe".Encyclopædia Britannica(12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company.
  6. ^Staff (February 1958)."Chief Special Projects Section: Dr. Lester Machta"(PDF).United States Weather Bureau.pp. 39–41. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 3 March 2017.Retrieved21 April2012.
  7. ^Holland, G. J.; Webster, P. J.; Curry, J. A.; Tyrell, G.; Gauntlett, D.; Brett, G.; Becker, J.; Hoag, R.; Vaglienti, W. (1 May 2001)."The Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft: A New Paradigm for Environmental Observations".Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.82(5): 889–902.Bibcode:2001BAMS...82..889H.doi:10.1175/1520-0477(2001)082<0889:TARAAN>2.3.CO;2.ISSN0003-0007.
  8. ^"Drones May Replace Weather Balloons Soon".www.outlookindia.com/.8 June 2022.Retrieved7 November2022.
  9. ^Dabberdt, W F; Shellhorn, R; Cole, H; Paukkunen, A; Horhammer, J; Antikainen, V (2003)."Radiosondes"(PDF).Elsevier Science Direct.
  10. ^Paul-Davies, Steven (2002).The Prisoner Handbook.London: Pan Books.ISBN978-0-230-53028-7.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toWeather balloon.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Weather_balloon&oldid=1234720849"